I have been looking for storage for my punches but haven't been able to find anything I really like for my scrap room.

So, last week, I went to visit a friend for the weekend who lives two hours away. She loves checking out antique/2nd hand stores so after a great brunch, we hit a few little shops.

I found a beautiful cabinet (low, like an end table but a lot wider) in cherry wood. Very vintage looking. It has 8 small drawers with a long, wide drawer at the bottom. I loved it and thought it would be perfect punch (or stamp) storage. It was marked at $99.00 and apparently they had just gotten it in, the day before. I planned on purchasing, put down my third row of seats and went back into store to load it in my car. Well, they had it out of the corner where it was being displayed and much to my dismay, the back left corner of it had been repaired. It almost looked like a new corner had been made with a resin material and painted to match. An area about the size of 3X3.

So, even though I love this cabinet, I did not want to pay 99. for a damaged piece. But now...I am regretting not purchasing it...They told me in 30 days, it would go on sale. Most likely 20 percent off if they had not sold it.

Not sure what to do but my thoughts keep drifting back to it. My friend says she would go pick it up, if I decide to buy it.

As a very frequent shopper in the thrift store areas....if you think at all that you will want it....GO GET IT...chances are as soon as you convince yourself to get is, it will be gone.

Now, are there other things to store punches on? Yes. But if you otherwise love this piece, get it. You probably wont notice the damage much either and is is vintage and will show some signs of wear and tear. If the repair is decently done, then get it.

I say get it. The vintage distessed look is in & has been. I used to go to auctions, garage sales etc & having it repaired would not bother me. I used to sell antiques. Old stuff comes with its own kind of character. It was normal to find stuff that had damage. I say if you LOVE IT, then get it.

If I were shopping at antique/secondhand stores, I would go in expecting various damage and repairs to stuff, so yes, if something met my needs, was in the price range I was willing to pay, and had only cosmetic or minor structural damage (and especially if there were attempts to repair the damage), and I had gone into the shopping experience with the knowledge that there might be damaged items, then yes, I'd buy it.

In my scraproom is a lovely library card catalog unit. It has a little water damage on the top surface (probably from a potted plant), and some of the drawer rods don't come out the way they're supposed to, and one of the drawers has a plastic shim screwed to one side so it isn't loose in its slot, but I knew when looking for such an item that it probably wouldn't be pristine, so I was willing to shell out the money for it (several times what the lovely cabinet you found would cost), and in the end, I have a lovely library card catalog unit in my scraproom, and that's what matters to me.

Thanks for your replies! I am not versed in shopping at second hand stores so was not aware that the finds usually have damage. I do love this cabinet so I think I am going to call in the morning to see if they still have it. I may even put my Cricut on top of it which would pretty much block the damaged corner anyhow...

I have a beautiful antique childs wardrobe in my scrap room holding my Cricut and other junk. Its been repainted but on the inside, it still smells like the wood. Ive had it for 17 years (was a gift from my parents when I was pregnant with my second son) and Ive used it thru 2 more kids. I love having it there, its functional and its a nice memory. Its a little worn, and beat up in places, but aren't we all a bit??

I hope you get it. It sounds like a beautiful piece. I just bought a wood bookshelf to store my albums on and my mom stained it At first I was concerned about the money but now I so happy that I spent it!